Party Without Plastic® is an online Marketplace of UK small businesses selling plastic-free party essentials from tableware and decorations to party bags, games, gift wrap and much more. We believe celebrations can be good for people and the planet, and are committed to reducing and ultimately eliminating the waste (and plastic waste in particular) that is synonymous with the party supplies industry.

Watch our video on YouTube here.

About the Founder

I’m Lorraine Allman, the founder of Party Without Plastic.®

I have over  20 years’ experience  running my own businesses, and although this isn’t the first online business I’ve started, it is the first eco one!

For the last 10+ years I’ve been working with families and in schools, helping them nurture a Can-Do mindset in children through screen-free play. I’m a three times published author, and have worked internationally supporting Early Years educators. I’ve loved this work and have seen the positive impact it has had on children, families, and schools, but was feeling increasingly unsure as to the next steps for the business. I took time out to look at what my own son was doing – he’s 17 now, and has spent the last four years in particular championing hedgehogs and doing what he can to turn around their dramatic decline in numbers. He's become one of the most well-known hedgehog champions in the UK and, as he so often reminds me, the struggle hedgehogs are having is a microcosm of what is happening to our planet.

I reflected on what I was doing to help my son’s generation and generations to follow be better able to look after this precious Earth, and honestly felt there was so much more I could do. With my background in working with families and children, and being a parent myself, I realised just how much  waste, and plastic waste in particular there is with parties and celebrations. I set about looking at ways to be part of the solution, rather than the problem, and the result is the Party Without Plastic® Marketplace!

This is very much a journey for me, but one that I'm in for the long haul and would love you to join. I’ve been working hard to come up to speed with the latest developments in areas such as bioplastics, and to better understand what terms such as ‘compostable’ and ‘biodegradable’ actually mean in practice. It's proving tricky to navigate but through my membership and studies with the IEMA (Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment), and the Institute of Environmental Sciences, we are making good progress.  I recently passed the IEMA Sustainability Skills for Managers exam, and am now studying for the IEMA Foundation Certificate. I'm also in discussions with the University of East Anglia exploring opportunities to collaborate.

One thing I can promise you is transparency in our work, so you can be sure that what you're buying makes a positive contribution to this world. We publish our 'hard lines' on materials, as well as definitions on 'green' terms for everyone to see. 

As a final word, I just want to make mention of the small business sellers you’ll find on the Marketplace. These are so often the unsung heroes of the UK economy, quietly getting on with making a living, employing local people, and creating amazing plastic-free party products! Each time you buy something from the Marketplace, you will not only be helping make the planet a better place, but also supporting the people and families behind the small business, and for that, I and they thank you very much.